Midnight Meeting
by Oscar F. de Jarjayes
Summary: Alphonse Elric spends an unexpected night with Scar. No pairings. Fluff if you squint.


Assured in his knowledge that his brother Ed was peacefully asleep, Alphonse Elric began his nighttime wandering.

Some nights Al was content to stay indoors and keep a watchful eye on Ed, but usually he preferred to walk the streets of their latest destination until dawn neared and it was time to reunite with his brother.

He tried to use the solitude for reciting alchemical principles to himself, but mostly he just chased stray cats.

Al loved cats, and no matter how many times Ed told him he couldn't bring one with them while they traveled, he still gave in to the urge to stalk them through quiet, dusty streets at night.

At that moment, a particularly beautiful calico crossed his path, and Al just had to follow it. Unfortunately, he did not notice the storm clouds quickly gathering overhead; if Al had had a body, rain would not be much more than an inconvenience, but as it was, taking in too much water posed the risk of washing away his bloodseal.

Oblivious to the imminent rain, Al kept chasing the calico until the very edge of the village and then lost of sight of it.

He heard a rustle coming from a nearby abandoned shed, and he grinned to himself, thinking the cat had run inside of it. Carefully easing the door open so as not to startle the cat, Al immediately stopped short at the sight of a hulking man with a silvery shock of hair.

Several seconds went by before he finally said, "Scar?"

Scar only sneered and started uncovering his destructive tattoo.

"Leave, Alphonse Elric!"

Knowing how volatile Scar could be, Al backed away slowly and turned to go out of the door when he suddenly heard the downpour outside.

Bowing his head, he turned back to Scar.

"Scar, I can't leave."

"And why not?"

"It's raining, and I'm far from any other shelter. If I walk that long in the rain, I'm bound to get soaked and risk ... um, rusting my armor or worse."

Scar grunted while he mulled this over. He slowly covered his tattoo back up. He did not particularly want company, or anyone to even know where he was. On the other hand, he felt pity for the strange child whose spirit was encased in the metal suit.

"You may stay, Alphonse Elric, but try to stay quiet, and you must leave as soon as the rain is over."

Relieved, Al positioned himself in a corner of the shed far from Scar and silently waited for the rain to end.

Deciding that Al would not bother him any further, Scar sat down, leaned back against the opposite wall, and eventually fell asleep.

It was not long after that Al noticed that Scar was slumped over and his tattoo was glowing. He started to mumble unintelligibly in a frightened tone of voice. Al was sure that the man was having a nightmare, and he could not let even Scar suffer through torturous dreams.

As quietly and gently as he could, Al moved over to the increasingly distressed man and held him close to sooth him. The tattoo stopped glowing, and Scar's terrified babbling stopped.

Scar opened his eyes, and as he realized what was happening, he raised his tattoo-arrayed arm and prepared to strike Al.

"Stop! No!" Al cried. "I could tell you were having a nightmare, and I wanted to help you."

An unreadable expression appeared on Scar's face and quickly faded away.

"It is no concern of yours."

"Brother had nightmares for the longest time after this happened," Al said, gesturing to himself. "I held him for so many nights until the dreams finally went away. Comforting you was a sort of reflex for me."

"I see."

"Are you going to throw me out?" Al asked quietly. He could still hear rain outside.

"No, but do not try to touch me again."

Al scooted back to his corner. Scowling, Scar went back to where he had been resting and eventually fell back asleep.

After a while, Scar's tattoo began glowing again and this time the words he said were clear:

"Brother! Brother! Don't leave me behind!"

Despite Scar's admonition about touching him, Al was too moved by Scar's heart-breaking plea to leave him as he was.

Again, as gently and quietly as he could, Al put his strong arms around the man, and then tenderly stroked his hair while cooing reassuring words like a mother comforting a child.

Scar woke up once more. He didn't move away this time, but he growled at Al and then just sighed.

"No one has held me close in a long time," Scar eventually whispered.

Al replied by starting to rock Scar gently. Scar closed his eyes, and Al felt the man's body relax in his arms. Scar's arm did not light up again and he remained quiet for the rest of the night.

Al realized the rain had stopped and he saw the faintest light coming in through the slats of the shed on the east side of the structure. He knew dawn would be here before he knew it and that he had to return to his brother.

Carefully, Al eased Scar so that he was flat on the ground. Scar let out a slight groan but otherwise made no sound or response to being moved.

Al got up and started toward the entrance of the shed. He looked back at the sleeping form on the ground. He was loathe to leave the man all alone, but his brother came first.

With a sigh, he left the shed and started making his way toward Edward.


End file.
